Writing poetry is very cathartic for me,”” says West Windsor resident and oncologist Corey Langer. “”It’s a terrific outlet. Some people go to a psychologist. I write poetry instead.””
As an attending physician and the medical director of thoracic oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center Philadelphia, Langer spends his days immersed in the intense, high stakes world of cancer treatment. But for the past 10 years he has relieved his work stress by immersing himself in the ancient art of poetry. “”I love writing poetry,”” he says. “”It is my one major extracurricular activity. It exercises a part of my brain that is dormant during the day.””
Langer is the president of Delaware Valley Poets (DVP), a grassroots poetry group that holds regular workshop meetings at the Lawrence Public Library at the corner of Darrah Lane and Business Route 1 South in Lawrence. Held on the third Thursday of every month, the next meeting takes place on Thursday, August 19, at 7:30 p.m. DVP also holds readings (with a featured poet followed by an open reading) at Barnes and Noble bookstore at MarketFair on the second Monday of each month at 8 p.m.
The workshops at the Lawrence Library are a simple but effective means of improving one’s writing, according to Langer. Poets bring copies of their work and read to the group. The group then offers its critique. “”About five to ten people attend each month,”” he says. “”The group is both critical and nurturing. The more experienced poets can sometimes be given a harsher critique while that is somewhat toned down for fledgling poets.””
But Langer is also quick to point out that poets are always the final arbitrators of the validity of any criticism if or opinion about their work. “”Suggestions from the group can call for radical or minor changes to a poem, but I always tell writers that it is their poem,”” says Langer. “”Any changes they make are up to them. They control the delete button.””
But Langer is a testimony to the effectiveness of the group’s critical techniques. A published poet, his most recent poem, “”Cyberpoem,”” appears in the July 28 US 1 Summer Fiction issue. “”I am a much better poet as a result (of participating in the group),”” he says. “”I’ve learned to tailor my work and to economize the language. My work has matured.””
In the complex world of creativity, ideas for poems can come at any time for Langer. “”The words and the images can be provoked by something I hear on the radio or something I see on the landscape as I’m driving,”” he says. “”It’s a very spontaneous and unconscious process.”” He dictates these initial ideas into his ever-present doctor’s dictaphone to transcribe and revize later. “”Some poems take five minutes to write, some five weeks or five months,”” he says. “”Others are still not perfect after five years.””
Langer had written some poetry while in college at Boston University and participated in a poetry workshop known as Brookline Writers. But after graduating with a medical degree in 1981, poetry took a backseat to his medical career. He completed his internship and residency in medicine at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. He then completed his fellowship in oncology at Fox Chase in 1987.
Poetry reentered his life, however, in 1994. “”I went to a Communiversity event and Delaware Valley Poets had a booth set up,”” he says. “”I picked up a copy of an anthology and started reading.”” Shortly after that he started coming to the workshops.
Reading work in public can be a stressful experience for any young writer, and Langer says that he was no exception. “”I was invited to participate at a reading when I was in my late 30s, and I was a nervous wreck,”” he says. But with the many readings he has been involved with since, as well as giving ongoing lectures to medical students at Fox Chase, Langer says that his public speaking has improved, and he has since calmed down significantly.
Last month, Langer and his daughter, Adina, a rising junior at Oberlin College, gave a co-reading at Barnes and Noble. “”It was a lot of fun,”” he says. “”Before the reading we tried to figure out how to integrate our work. It was a bit of a challenge. We finally picked each other’s poems.”” Langer and his wife, Mindy, a physician, also have a son, Micah, who will be a freshman at High School South in the fall.
Although his work keeps him from attending as many DVP meetings as he would like, Langer is quick to laud DVP as a vibrant organization and encourages anyone who is interested to look into it. Annual dues are $20, but interested poets are encouraged to attend a meeting before joining to see how they like it. “”DVP is alive and well,”” says Langer, “”though an influx of new voices would certainly help. We always want to encourage involvement.””
-Jack Florek
Delaware Valley Poets, Lawrence Library, Darrah Lane and Route 1 South, Thursday, August 19, 7:30 p.m. For more information call 609-882-9246.
